Steven Banks

About

Also known as his silent, white-faced alter ego Billy the Mime , Steven Banks hit the big time when he developed and starred in the one-man theatrical show Home Entertainment Center, a play about an easily distracted procrastinator with a penchant for comedic songs trying to meet a work deadline. After a staggering 440 performances of the show across the US, he was awarded the LA Weekly Theater Award, three San Francisco Bay Area Critics Awards and four Drama-Logue Awards.

In 1989 the show achieved widespread fame when it was filmed and aired on Showtime, and subsequently landed him a one off TV pilot entitled The Steven Banks Show. In 1994 PBS produced his act as a series, and the first original sitcom ever made and aired by the channel was born. The 13 episode series garnered critical acclaim, attaining a kind of cult status despite it’s relatively short run. A CD album for the show was also released, consisting of original songs written and performed by Banks.

Watch Steven Banks: Home Entertainment Center

An unearthed gem from the US comedy scene that tells the story of Didbert, a young pop-culture addict who clings onto his rockstar dream through inventive musical reenactments in his dingy one-room apartment. The multi-talented Steven Banks performed this show 400 times across the US over 20 years ago, and we’re proud to bring it to the world via NextUp. Welcome back Steven, now – how did you learn to play the flute, bass, drums, harmonica, guitar AND banjo?

Short Clips

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See Steven Banks Live

There’s currently no information on upcoming live shows for Steven Banks but watch this space!

As Billy the Mime, Banks presented a six-week engagement at The Flea Theater in New York and also appeared at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (LA and NYC), The New York International Fringe Festival, The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival, The Aspen Comedy Festival, SketchFest (San Francisco), The Revolutions International Theater Festival (New Mexico), The Lakeshore Theater (Chicago), and in Los Angeles at The Actors Gang, Sit ‘n Spin, Largo, and The Comedy Central Stage.

In 2011 His planned animated project The Governator, a superhero franchise for children produced by Stan Lee and co-developed with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was halted after scandals surrounding Schwarzenegger’s infidelity emerged. Banks continues to write, his published books including King of the Creeps, and plays HER LAST REQUEST, BILLY THE MIME, AMERICA LOVE SEX DEATH and PILOBOLUS SHADOWLAND.

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Press Quotes

‘He should have been Steve Martin; he’s that good...as brave and fearless a performer as any person I’ve met in show business. And I’ve met Bob Dylan and Lou Reed’– Penn Jillette

‘A technical skill you simply can’t fake’
– New York Times

Awards

Winner of the LA Weekly, Dramalogue and Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for Home Entertainment Center, Banks has also received an Emmy nomination for his writing on Sponge Bob Square Pants. In 2005 Banks appeared in the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Award winning “The Aristocrats” (Best Documentary) as Billy the Mime.

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